Spanish plastics technology centre Aimplas (Valencia; www.aimplas.net) has joined the Nontox project (www.nontox-project.eu), a European Union-backed scheme that aims to recover plastic materials from waste electrical and electronic equipment, end-of-life vehicles, and waste from construction and demolition.

These materials contain hazardous additives or compounds such as flame-retardants, stabilisers and fillers. Plastics recovered through Nontox’s processes include ABS, EPS, HIPS, polyethylene, and polypropylene, which together account for around half of the EU’s plastics demand, although much of this valuable material is landfilled or incinerated.

Nontox said it will also develop two different technologies – “Extruclean” and “CreaSolv” – to remove hazardous substances from these plastic waste streams, allowing for increased recycling rates.

In June 2021, Aimplas had also helped develop a mobile chemical recycling plant for non-recyclable waste from automotive, electrical and electronic, and packaging sectors (see Plasteurope.com of 30.06.2021).